The African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) notes with dismay disheartening media reports about the manhandling of journalists and other citizens by the police as the #EndBadGovernance protests that began August 1, 2024, continues in some states across the country.
We strongly condemn the violence against journalists and other citizens by the police as citizens exercise their constitutional rights of freedom of assembly and expression within the extant laws of the country.
Attacking journalists for covering the protests infringes on a constitutional provision that clearly establishes citizens’ right to freedom of expression, and the freedom of the press. To be clear, Chapter 4 Section 39 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution (1999) states: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”
A press statement by Coordinator, AFRICMIL, Dr. Chido Onumah, note that it is a flagrant violation of this law for the police to attack journalists for doing their work, and to equally brutalize other citizens for exercising the right to protest. We therefore call on the Inspector General of Police to call erring officers to order, and stop the police attacks on journalists and protesters.
It is important to note that the #EndBadGovernance protests did not appear from thin air. The protests emanated from the acute hardship foisted on Nigerians by ill-advised policies, reckless government expenditure, and mismanagement of the economy.
We recall that since May 29, 2023, when the current administration abruptly announced an end to fuel subsidy and followed it up with the floating of the naira, Nigerians have faced an unsustainable rise in the prices of goods and services, a knock-on effect of the unplanned and badly conceived twin policies. Despite the abrupt implementation of the fuel subsidy removal without putting in place measures to cushion the consequent hardship on citizens, the government has been on a grossly insensitive pursuit of luxuries, including billions of naira spent on a new residence for the Vice President, hundreds of millions of naira spent on the purchase of new sport utility vehicles for federal lawmakers, and other frivolous expenditures that have no positive impact on society.
Following such abhorrent disregard for the suffering of citizens by government, it is understandable that Nigerians are exercising their constitutional right of freedom of assembly and expression within the ambit of the law as seen in the #EndBadGovernance protests across the country.
For the avoidance of doubt, by the #EndBadGovernance protests, Nigerians are simply Nigerians making their voices heard about the mass suffering in the land. As such, the police have no reason to attack journalists covering the protests, nor do they have any reason to attack citizens participating in the protests.
We therefore reiterate our call on the Inspector General of Police to call his men to order, and immediately stop all forms of harassment of journalists for doing their job.
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